Fox 5: Georgia 12-Year-Old Publishes Her First Book

Mikayla Lowery, 12, spends a lot of time at home in the library, not just because she loves to read, but because she’s a published author herself.

“Zoey’s Zany Life” is the story of a sixth grader who can’t catch a break from quirky mishaps and hilarious accidents.

“I came up with the idea because I thought it would be cool if I wrote a character the opposite of myself,” said Mikayla. “She talks a lot, and she gets into a lot of trouble.”

Mikayla, who attends the online public charter school Georgia Cyber Academy, started writing short stories when she was 10-years-old. Her parents noticed the humor was making adults laugh out loud, so they contacted literary agent and publisher Mary Claire Branton with Charlie’s Port.

“I took a look at it, and I was blown away by her stream of consciousness style,” said Branton. “I had never seen that in such a young writer.”

“Zoey’s Zany Life” is the first in what will be a series about the warm-hearted red-head.

Branton said Mikayla is just a natural born writer.

“Even though she wrote it when she was 10, it is at the adult level of writing,” said Branton. “On bookshelves, you’re not going to be able to tell that a 10-year-old wrote this book.”

Mikayla has already written the second book, as well as a picture book for younger kids.